I have become increasingly concerned about what is happening to our world. I don't know what to do about it but I believe it is crucial that information be disseminated. These are momentous times for which the necessity to stay informed is ever greater. I plan to post notes about recent publications on this site that help me think about what is going on. And I would welcome your comments.

A 14-year-old Bangladeshi girl who was reportedly raped by a 40-year-old married cousin has died after being publicly lashed for allegedly having an affair with him, according to news reports out of the South Asian nation.

A Muslim cleric and three others have been arrested, and today the country's High Court ordered officials in Shariatpur to explain why they did not protect Hena Begum, who died Monday following the fatwa punishment, The Daily Star writes from the capital, Dhaka.

BBC News says police are seeking 14 others in connection with her death, including a teacher from a local madrassa.

The Daily Star says that the girl was raped Sunday by a 40-year-old relative and that a village arbitration on Monday ordered she be whipped 100 times. The paper writes she "fell unconscious after nearly 80 lashes" and died after being taken to a hospital.

In its report, the BBC writes that police said the girl "was accused of having an affair with a married man," a cousin, and makes no mention of the rape. The BBC also quotes a police official as saying the girl died six days after being taken to the hospital but does not say when she died or was lashed.

The BBC says family members beat the girl after the reported rape and adds that village elders also asked her father to pay a $700 fine; annual income averages $520.

Villagers rallied today in Shariatpur against the village court, which consists of elders and clerics, and demanded that they be prosecuted.

The village council decreed the lashing under Islamic s haria law, but the country's High Court outlawed such harsh punishments last year. It's the second death linked to a sharia punishment since then. A 40-year-old Bangladeshi woman died in late December, almost a month after she was publicly caned 40 times for an alleged affair with her stepson.

How tragic it is for our country that the great issues of our times are scarcely covered in the television news! Look here to see the c...

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A major source of the American debt problem

In 2006 Christopher Buckley, son of Wm F. Buckley said, "President [George W] Bush has now borrowed more money than all other Presidents combined. The spending that he has enacted is amazing. It amazes me that he calls himself "conservative."” [On PBS NOW 3/3/06].

This borrowing was done with the consent and support of the Republican Party. This is why the United States has a major debt problem. [Do you remember that President Bush came into office with a budget surplus?]

Notable Concerns

The crash of September 2008 brought the largest bankruptcies in world history, pushing more than 30 million people into unemployment and bringing many countries to the edge of insolvency. AlJazeera 10/15/11

GE, America's largest corporation, paid no taxes last year even though it made 5.1 billion dollars profit in the country [and even more outside the country] [source: same as below]

In 2009 the richest 5% held 63.5% of American wealth; the bottom 80% controlled 12.8%. [source: same as below]

Between 2000 and 2007 the richest 10% in America benefited from all of the average growth in the period. In the post WW II period the top 10% benefited from only one third of the growth, the bottom 90% benefiting from the rest of the growth. [Economic Policy Institute, cited by Bob Herbert, NYT 3/26/11]

In 2010 a "premier" investment bank paid each of its 26,000 employees an average of $370,000. [Bill Gross Pimco Investment Outlook Feb, 2011.]

In 2005, one-quarter of the corporations in America making a trillion dolars in revenue paid no taxes.